Exercise 21

Standing in a queue at the check-out is a boring business. Some people invent games to make the time pass quicker. One of them comes to guess­ing what people's lifestyles are likely to be judging by the contents of their shopping baskets.

I. Read the following passages and try to say something about people's families, homes, lifestyles.

Body language can tell a stranger a lot about one's person­ality, so can the fruits of one's shopping expedition.

Yesterday I observed a beautiful young lady. While her little daughter begged unsuccessfully for a bun, she was carefully choosing a shampoo, hair conditioner and bath perfume. Then she picked up a couple of cinema magazines and went to the check-out.

I looked down into her trolley and shuddered: three gallons of milk, 3 loaves of bread, four chickens, a mountain of baby-food jars, cakes and pies.

I especially like to observe male shoppers. I don't mean househusbands dutifiilly checking items off a list. I prefer a gourmet who knows the real taste of things: imported cheeses, exotic spices, a whole leg of lamb, early asparagus.

I felt hostility flowing from the woman standing behind me in the supermarket check-out queue. Had I cut in front of her? She was glaring into my basket. I quickly surveyed my selec­tions to see what could be generating such hostility. Let's see: two bottles of champagne, a lovely avocado, a pound of shrimp, and a quart of purified water.

II. Fancy what one can see in a shopping basket of:

1) a good housewife;

2) a divorced man;

3) a woman on a diet;

4) a hearty eater;

5) someone expecting guests.

III. Think of other games you can play in your head to make the time pass when you are waiting in a queue.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-11